Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2000 08:59:10 GMT
From: LHW .
Subject: The BSB NSYNC Chronicles Chapter 5
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This is an entirely fictional story (as if you couldn't guess) and is not
intended to imply anything about the sexuality of the members of NSYNC and
the Backstreet Boys and none of these events actually happened in real life.
Also, the characters "Hercules", "Iolaus", "Lilith" and "Jason" are
copyrighted to the show "Young Hercules" and all other companies associated
with the show. This story has hints of homosexual content but will move
slowly in that area because of the storyline. Comments and suggestions are
welcomed and should be sent to ensstyenlc@hotmail.com
If you are 18 or older, you may proceed to read the story. If you are under
18 years of age, shouldn't you be studying or at least at a Pokemon website
rather than here? ;-)
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I would like to thank David from Nifty for letting me put my work on his
site. I would also like to thank all the readers who have sent their
feedback.(There you go Lapras.I've changed this section at long last. Happy
now?) Now let's continue the story, shall we?
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|The BSB NSYNC Chronicles - Chapter Five|
AJ's soft whisper came out magnified and it echoed around the temple as
though he had spoken out loud. Brian put his index finger to his lips to
signal AJ to be quiet.
"He is not allowed to speak until the sun rises tomorrow," Lalaith
explained. "It is to teach him discipline."
AJ nodded solemnly.
"I need you to make a decision," Lalaith said. "I need to know if you will
allow me and Brian to ressurrect your friend."
"Why with Brian?" AJ asked. "Why not with another of your kind?"
"My people live a long time. Longer than humans usually live," Lalaith
began. "If two of my people act together, Justin will become like us. He
will watch his friends die of old age while he seems untouched by age. If
Brian helps me, it will just ensure that Justin will have a longer life than
most humans."
"Is there a catch somewhere?" AJ asked. Lalaith nodded sadly.
"He will become like a half-elf because he was ressurrected by an elf and a
human," Lalaith said.
"Elf? You're an elf?" AJ asked in surprise. "I always thought that elves
were short, playful creatures. I didn't expect them to be human-sized, no
offense intended."
"Well, we are. And none taken," Lalaith giggled.
"Ahh...so what about the half-elf thing?" AJ asked, becoming serious once
more.
"It won't change him into a half-elf, if that's what you're thinking,"
Lalaith giggled. "It just means that he will become more elf-like in manner
and he learns new things much faster."
"Ooh...that can't be good," AJ joked. Lalaith and Tilkeleb giggled a little
while Brian struggled to contain his laughter. He was not supposed to utter
even a syllable.
"So do you approve of the ritual?" Lalaith asked, her mirth fading. AJ
nodded solemnly.
"As long as he doesn't become addicted to mushrooms, I'm fine with it," AJ
said. Lalaith raised her eyebrows with a questioning look.
"Oh, elves are considered by humans to be mythological and that they eat
only mushrooms," AJ explained.
"Ugh! I don't even like mushrooms," Lalaith said, making a disgusted face.
"Horrid tasting, nasty, slimy, dirt-covered fungus. Ugh!"
Lalaith began to move to Justin's left and Brian moved to Justin's right.
They reached across to each other and clasped the other's wrist. Lalaith
closed her eyes and began to chant a prayer to Eru Iluvatar. As she chanted,
a small, rippling globe of pure white light appeared in between the two
arches formed by Brian's and her hands. The globe grew bigger, rotating like
the Earth. Lalaith ended her prayer abruptly and the globe shattered into
tiny shard-like pieces, except that they were pure light. The shards floated
around Justin and then gathered into a ring above Justin's heart. A beam of
light formed in the centre of the ring and blasted down onto Justin's chest.
Justin's body was engulfed with white light, then the light faded away.
Justin's chest expanded with a sudden rush of air entering his lungs. The
wonder that AJ had at the miracle was ruined by what Justin did next. He
opened his eyes and then let out the loudest scream that AJ had ever heard.
What made it worse was the amplifying effect of the temple. The resulting
sound would have scared away a dragon affected by bloodlust. Tilkeleb had
faded into a mist to escape the sound. Lalaith's elven ears already
increased her hearing power and the effect was devastating to her. She had
tears in her eyes from the pain. Her slender hands were covering her ears
tightly. Brian was in a similar position but he still managed not to make a
single sound. AJ was shocked by his determination. He quickly rushed over to
Justin and covered his mouth. Within seconds, the sound had faded and Justin
had calmed down.
"What happened? Where am I?" Justin asked as soon as AJ removed his hand.
"You fell off a three hundred foot high platform," AJ said.
"Wow...I must have fainted," Justin said. "Who caught me?"
"Err...no one caught you, Just," AJ said.
"Huh? I don't understand. If I fell off such a high drop, I would never have
made it unless someone caught me," Justin said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Actually man, you didn't make it," AJ said solemnly.
"Huh?" Justin asked, still not understanding.
"You didn't make it, Just," Brian said. "You were dead for a day until
Lalaith and I ressurrected you just now."
"Brian? I thought you were not allowed to speak?" AJ said sternly. Brian
grinned at AJ and winked.
"I told him telepathically that he could speak because of his not even
whimpering in pain when Justin screamed," Lalaith explained. "That was a
greater test than the one I gave him."
"What test?" Justin said, looking at Brian. "Did I miss something?"
"You missed a lot, my friend," Brian said, putting his arm around Justin's
shoulder. "Come with me and AJ and we'll bring you up to date."
AJ, Brian and Justin walked out of the temple, chatting happily.
Kevin stumbled and swore. His jeans were nearly tattered and his shirt was
like a rag. He had been looking for Brian since the night before. He and
Brian had wandered through the forest, tired and hungry. Suddenly, Brian had
noticed a campfire in the distance and both of them could hear music and the
sound of people dancing, clapping and singing. The aroma of roasting meat
had caught their attention, but as Brian and Kevin had stepped into the
light of the fire, it suddenly went out. Even the smell of the food had
disappeared as though it had never been. Kevin had asked Brian if they both
had had the same hallucination and had received no reply. It was then that
Kevin noticed that Brian had disappeared.
Kevin trekked through the forest, searching for Brian. Finally, he could
take no more. He sat on a stump and cried. Suddenly, he felt a wet, soft
tongue licking his face. He looked up and saw a large dog with brownish-red
fur and pointed ears. The dog placed its paws on Kevin's knees and gave his
face another lick. Kevin petted the dog's head.
"Here boy!" A gruff voice called in the distance. The dog began to wag its
tail and ran towards the sound. He stopped and turned around as if waiting
for Kevin to follow.
"I guess I could go with you," Kevin said to the dog. "Maybe your master
could spare me some food."
He followed the dog through the forest and came across a small campsite.
There were four forest-green tents set up nearby. An short, scruffy,
middle-aged man walked up to Kevin. His black beard was coarse and shaggy.
His shiny bald head glistened in the morning sun.
"Eh?" the man said in his gruff voice. "Look at what the dog brought back
from his forest walk."
Three other similar looking men crawled out of their tents.
"It's a boy, and not a particularly good specimen as well," one of the other
men said. Kevin resented being called a boy, especially since he stood at
least a foot over the tallest of the four men. He tried to remain polite as
he asked, "I need help. My cousin and I were walking through the woods when
we saw a campfire. We stepped into the light and everything disappeared,
including my cousin. Is there any way you could help me?"
The face of the first man softened its hard look. He patted Kevin's arm.
"I'm sorry, boy," the man spoke. "You won't ever see your cousin again. He's
been captured by the forest ghosts to use for their inhuman sacrifices. I'm
sorry."
Kevin began to sob. He tried to hold it in but the news that his dearest
cousin was probably dead hit him hard. He did not want to cry in front of
these hardened men, but he couldn't help it.
"Don't hold back, boy," the first man said. "It helps to get rid of the hurt
inside. It clears the sorrow so that only the anger remains. Then you can
use that anger to fight the ones who took your cousin."
Kevin nodded his head in agreement to the man's words.
"What be your name?" the man asked. "I don't think you want to always be
known as 'boy', do ya?"
Kevin shook his head. The man grinned and then held his hand out to Kevin.
"My name is Sebastion," the man introduced himself.
"Kevin," Kevin said, grabbing the Sebastian's hand and shaking it. Sebastian
was taken aback by Kevin's strange actions. He let go of Kevin's hand and
said, "That's not how we do it here. Like this."
He clasped Kevin's wrist and shook it once. Kevin grinned, thinking that the
gesture was about the same, but he decided to humour Sebastian.
"So Sebastian, what do you do for a living?" Kevin asked at dinner that
night. Sebastian's three companions, whose names Kevin found out later were
Alexander, Christopher and Erasmus. The dog was called Cerberus.
"I was a farmer until the forest ghosts took my sons. My wife had left me a
few years before that to join the Amazons. Now I'm a hunter. I hunt the
Amazons and the forest ghosts."
"How can you hunt ghosts?" Kevin asked.
"They're not really ghosts," Sebastian explained. "They are a race of evil
creatures. They're also known as the Faerie Folk."
"Faerie Folk?" Kevin asked. "You mean elves?"
"Yeah, and others too," Sebastian growled as he spoke. "Not really.
Actually, I was refering to the other half of the coin. See, the Faerie are
split into two factions: The Light Faerie and the Dark Faerie. The Dark
Faerie are creatures of evil that have been twisted by corruption. They are
constantly opposing their cousins and vice versa. They are not usually very
smart but they are cunning and cruel."
Kevin was about to ask another question but Sebastian stopped him. "It's
time to sleep. We head back to Corinth tomorrow, and it's quite a distance
away."
Sebastion got up and headed for the tent that he and Kevin shared. Kevin
pondered the Sebatian's words, before he turned in for the night as well.
Chris and Howie stood outside the stone building. They had both heard plenty
of compliments about the cadets of the Academy. Chris turned to Howie and
said, "Are you sure you want to enroll in this place?"
Howie nodded glumly and replied, "I suppose so."
Chris looked at his friend with concern. "Are you sure you're alright?"
Howie shook his head. "I'll be fine. Thanks for letting me follow you."
Chris grinned and punched Howie playfully in the arm. "Don't worry. I'm sure
all turned out for the best. I can understand why you acted that way. You
were scared and confused."
"I should have been more thoughtful," Howie argued.
"Nonsense! You were being thoughtful," Chris said. "You said that your
mother told you about elves that kidnapped babies and changed them with ugly
ones in return and all sorts of cruel things. Also, we were in a new place
and were helpless. I don't know what would have happened if we had trusted
Hope, but I do know that you were looking out for us, reminding us that we
should not just trust anyone that claims to want to help."
"Thanks again," Howie sniffed. "I just hope that the others see it that
way."
"I'll make sure that they do," Chris assured Howie. "Now let's go in and
sign up for this fighting school. 'Police Academy', here we come!"
The two friends ran into the building, eager to see what they would find.
Chris and Howie stepped into the courtyard of the Academy. Howie walked up
to the huge doors and quietly pushed them open. He and Chris walked through
the doors and looked around. All around the place, there were students
sparring, competing and training with weapons. Chris closed the door behind
him with a loud bang. All the cadets turned to look at the newcomers. As
Chris looked around for a teacher or trainer of some sort, a black haired
centaur with a goatee came up to greet them.
"My name is Cheiron," the centaur said. "May I help you?"
"Err...yeah," Chris said nervously. He had not expected to see a centaur, a
creature that he had always thought had never existed. Howie was more
composed, however, and managed to ask, "Yeah. Could we speak to the
principal or trainer who runs this academy?"
"I am the leader," Cheiron said. "Would you two like to enroll?"
"Yes we would," Chris answered while Howie nodded.
"Okay, follow me," Cheiron ordered. "The rest of you, get back to your
practice."
Cheiron led the two young men towards a room at the far end of the sparring
hall. He opened the doors and walked in. Howie and Chris followed closely
behind. The room was quite large and had many shelves with scrolls, which
Chris guessed must be the students' reports. A small, messy table covered
with scrolls stood in the centre of the room.
"Close the door, please," Cheiron said to Howie. Howie nodded and closed the
door.
"Okay, in order for you to enter, I will need to fill out certain scrolls.
Firstly, I need your names," Cheiron spoke as he grabbed two empty
parchments off a shelf.
"My name is Christopher Kirkpatrick," Chris said.
"I'm called Howard Durough," Howie added.
Cheiron nodded and scribbled something on the parchments with a feather
quill. He looked up at Chris and Howie. "You have such a strange name,
Howard Durough."
"Just call me Howie, sir," Howie said quickly. Cheiron just nodded.
"Do you have enough money to pay for a years' worth of fees?" Cheiron asked.
Chris nodded and pulled two small bags of gold from each pocket. He mentally
thanked the kind stranger who had given them the money for fees. They had
not caught the names of the man, though, which was a pity.
Cheiron poured the coins out from the two pouches and counted the amount. It
was far from enough. He was about to put the money back into the pouches and
say that he was sorry that they did not have enough money to join when he
noticed a small scrap of parchment with the royal crest of Corinth on one
side. On the other was written:
Hey Cheiron,
The gang and I met these two guys who told us that they were lost and trying
to find their way home, but needed a place to stay and probably learn how to
fight to protect themselves so I told them how to come here. I know that
this gold is far from enough but just return the gold to them and tell them
that they have been chosen for a scholarship by the prince of Corinth
himself. I will pay their fees with mine every month. Thanks! I knew I could
count on you.
Prince Jason of Corinth
Cheiron put the coins back into the pouches and handed one puch each back to
Chris and Howie.
"It seems you have earned a royal scholarship," Cheiron said, a small, kind
smile on his face.
"A royal scholarship?" Howie asked. "Who would do such a thing for two
strangers?"
"I would," a voice came from behind Howie and Chris. They both turned around
to see the dark-haired, handsome young man that had given them the gold.
"Boys, this is Jason, the prince of Corinth," Cheiron introduced the pair to
Jason.
"Come on!" Jason hollered as he grabbed them both by the arm and dragged
them into the practice areas. "You've got to meet some of my friends."
Cheiron only smiled as the three young men exitted the room.
"Howie, Chris, this is Hercules," Jason introduced his new friends to his
old friend.
"Hey! Nice to meet you," Hercules said, clasping Howie's wrist and shaking
it.
"Wow!" Chris exclaimed. "If you had told me three days ago that I would meet
the youngest son and second favourite child of Zeus, I'd have said you were
mad."
Hercules' blue eyes shot open. "How did you know I was the son of Zeus? And
who is Zeus' favourite child?"
Chris gasped at his mistake. He stammered, trying to explain how he knew
these things. Howie spared him the trouble. "Where we come from, almost
everyone knows the names of Zeus' children, mortal and immortal."
Hercules nodded, his blond hair flying into his eyes. "Where do you come
from?"
"We come from a nameless land far away to the southwest across the ocean,"
Chris said quickly. "And Zeus' favourite child is his eldest child, the
goddess Athena."
Hercules nodded again, relieved that they had not said the name of another
mortal child of Zeus.
"So where are Iolaus and the others?" Jason asked Hercules.
"Canteen," Hercules replied. "Come on. We'll introduce you to the other two
new cadets. They just joined two days ago."
Howie and Chris followed Jason and Hercules to a room that looked like any
normal high school cafeteria, except that instead of plastic and metal, it
was all wood. The four of them walked up to a table. There were four cadets
sitting at the table. A young man with long, curly dirty-blond hair with
blue eyes was eating what seemed to be his third bowl of some sort of stew.
Seated next to him was another long-haired youth with dark blue eyes and
fair skin. His hair was black and straight but was tied up something like a
ponytail. Sitting across from the two guys were two girls. One of them had
short, curly blond hair and a pretty round face. She wasn't as tall as the
others, a trait that showed even while they were all seated. The other girl
had long, straight black hair and lavender eyes. Her face was finely
chiseled like the black-haired young man. Both of them had pointed ears,
giving Howie a wary feeling.
Jason walked up to the table and sat next to the blond man. He grinned.
"Iolaus, could you stop eating for a bit?"
"Go away and let me eat in peace," Iolaus grumbled with food in his mouth.
"That's his third bowl," the blond girl laughed.
They waited until Iolaus had finished eating before Jason said "Hey guys,
this is Howie and this is Chris. They're new here."
"Hi, I'm Lilith," The blond girl spoke.
"I'm Iolaus," Iolaus said.
"I am known to your people as River," said the black-haired man.
"And I am known as Rabbit," the last girl said.
Howie raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are you two in any related to someone
called Hope?"
"You know Hope?" Rabbit said, a smile forming on her face.
"Yeah," Howie said. "I had a little fight with him."
River studied Howie's face for a while. He did not seem to find what he was
looking for. Before Howie could ask if River wanted something, River said,
"It doesn't show."
"What doesn't show?" Chris, Jason, Hercules, Lilith, Iolaus and Howie asked
in unison.
Rabbit laughed at them while River grinned and said, "It doesn't show on
your face that you fought with my brother. The last time he got in a fight,
he got out without a single scratch or bruise but the other guy came out not
quite right in the head."
Howie looked at Chris and shuddered. "We didn't fight that intensely."
"Then he must have been just been in a bad mood. You should see when he's
really angry. When was this?" Rabbit asked.
"About two days ago," Howie said.
"Two days ago? He would have just come back from his visit to the different
towns to check up on the other wizards. He must have been sent to meet you
before he got any sleep." River deduced. "Hope gets very cranky if he
doesn't get to sleep more than four hours."
The group laughed at River's joke. Howie, Hercules, Jason and Chris got up
and went to get something to eat. The eight of them talked and joked until
nightfall.
JC's stomach grumbled. It was nighttime and had been two days since he and
Lance left their friends to go off on their own.
"I'm starving," he said to his companion.
"So am I," Lance replied, putting his arm around JC's shoulders. "I hope
that this is not the way we die...I wouldn't want to die hungry. It's the
worst thing to go through."
"Then you won't die hungry," a menacing voice said. "We'll see to it that
you won't."
JC and Lance looked back to the source of the voice. Out of the shadows
stepped six men, armed with swords.
"Hand over your money or die," the leader grinned, showing his yellow teeth.
His breath stank of rotted meat, causing JC and Lance to wrinkle their noses
in disgust.
"We don't have any money," JC said. "Please let us go."
"No money?" the leader sneered at them. "Then you'll just die."
The six men began to close in on JC and Lance, their swords glinting in the
moonlight.
------------------------------TO BE CONTINUED------------------------------
More on JC, Lance, Howie and Chris in the next chapter! And maybe you'll get
to find out what happened to Joey and Nick. The next chapter will be a bit
long in coming, though. I've been having a lot of problems with my modem
lately, so I'm probably gonna get a new one. I won't be sending any new
stories during that time so the 2 day interval between chapters will
probably be extended to a week's time, I suppose. As always, comments,
feedback, suggestions and questions should be emailed to
ensstyenlc@hotmail.com